Let’s face facts. There isn’t a decent bookstore in Ames.

Big Table Books is nice and cozy, but it doesn’t have a really big selection. Then there’s Waldenbooks in the mall. Sure, it’s big for a Waldenbooks, but that really isn’t saying very much, is it?

Campus Books and the University Book Store have a big selection of text books, but are severely lacking when it comes to non-school tomes. So what’s a reader to do if they want to go to a huge bookstore, browse the aisles and sit down with a half-caf latte?

One option is to head down to West Des Moines. There are both a Barnes and Noble and a Borders within a mile of each other.

Huge stores, enormous selections, big comfy chairs and all the latte you can handle. If, however, you want something closer to home, just head to the closest computer.

Now you can do your book shopping online without leaving home, a big plus if you don’t feel like wearing pants some days.

There are two main players in the internet book store game, Amazon (www.amazon.com) and Barnes and Noble (www.barnesandnoble.com). Amazon is an online only store, and Barnes and Noble has hundreds of “real” stores across the country.

Both sites offer some of the same basic services. They both heavily discount the bestsellers up to 40 percent off publishers’ price.

In fact, almost all titles are at least 20 percent off at both sites. Both have an Oprah’s book club section, and both allow you to browse for titles by subject.

The Amazon home page boasts the site is “Earth’s largest bookstore. 2.5 million titles.” That’s a lot of books and may seem a little daunting at first, but the site is very user friendly.

The main page offers many options and is updated daily. There’s a “Books of the Day” section, with selected titles in random categories discounted 40 percent.

A nice feature is the “Future Bestsellers” section, which lists soon-to-be-published books by popular authors or about hot topics.

Amazon also has a Daily Scoop section with different features and book news.

The feature on February 28, for example, was books-into-film, with information about “Titanic” titles, scripts from various movies and books about film.

The Barnes and Noble site offers a similar service in its “Books in the News” section. It contains a calendar of upcoming events, message boards and current hot titles. Book groups are coming soon.

The site also hosts live author chats on given nights. A schedule of upcoming authors is available, as well as transcripts from past guests.

Amazon and Barnes and Noble both allow you to search for books by title, author or keyword.

Type in a word like “masterharper,” for example, and you get a link to Anne McCaffrey’s new novel “The Masterharper of Pern.”

Unfortunately, after that, the Barnes and Noble search option stopped working on several separate occasions. It would find the first book easily enough, but a new search wouldn’t work.

One of two things would happen. Either a search for books by, say, Dave Barry would find the “Masterharper of Pern” again or a message would come up that said “Form empty. You must enter a title, author or keyword.”

At this point, yelling at the computer does no good, but may make you feel better.

The pages for individual books vary a lot between the two bookstores. On both Barnes and Noble and Amazon, the “Masterharper of Pern” page included the cover art, publisher information, a plot synopsis and links to related subjects. Amazon went beyond the basics, though.

The Amazon site included an excerpt from the novel and numerous reviews from readers who rated the novel on a scale of one to 10 and made comments.

The page also recommends other titles you may enjoy similar to the selected title and what others who purchased “Masterharper of Pern” bought in addition.

Another nice option on Amazon is the ability to order out of print titles. The Barnes and Noble’s site didn’t allow that. Take “Oddkins,” a children’s book Dean Koontz wrote in the 1970s.

A Barnes and Noble search indicates no such book exists. But at Amazon, you get a message that reads, “Out of print, but if you place an order, we may be able to find a used copy.

This is a great feature.

Amazon let’s you know within a few months, via e-mail, if they were able to locate the title, and what the price and condition of the book is.

Of the two sites, Amazon has the edge right now. It is friendlier and easier to spend hours in. After the initial special features, Barnes and Noble’s site seems to be little more than a book catalogue.

The online bookstores offer all the selection you could want right in the comfort of your own home. Unfortunately, it is still impossible to download a half-caf latte.